VATICAN CITY — Several members of Pope Francis’ sex abuse advisory board are expressing concern and incredulity over his decision to appoint a Chilean bishop to a diocese despite allegations from victims that he covered up for Chile’s most notorious pedophile.

After the service, I asked the young men who accompanied me to worship last week: “What did the music leader use so that people would know the beat of the music?” In unison all three replied, “He snapped his fingers!”

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis marks his second anniversary today riding a wave of popularity that has reinvigorated the Catholic Church in ways not seen since the days of St. John Paul II. He’s also entering a challenging third year, facing dissent from within on everything from financial reform to family issues.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A proposal to prevent state and local governments from infringing on a person’s religious beliefs failed before an Arkansas legislative panel this week after facing mounting criticism that it was an attempt to justify discriminating against gays and lesbians.

“Remember you are but dust and to dust you shall return.” With these words, the Rev. Canon H.W. Herrmann, rector of St. David of Wales Episcopal Church in Denton, marked the foreheads of approximately 30 early-morning worshipers on Ash Wednesday.

The call to prayer flows like poetry, resonating a deep but urgent tone in an ancient language not often heard on this side of the Atlantic. Spoken from the minaret (the focal point) by a muezzin, the words sound haunting but familiar when translated: “God is the greatest.” “I bear witness that there is no god but God.” “God is the greatest.” “There is no god but God.”

PITTSBURGH — A federal appeals court has reversed lower-court victories by two western Pennsylvania Catholic dioceses and a private Christian college that challenged birth control coverage mandates as part of federal health care reforms.

BURLINGTON, Vt. — The Rev. Christopher Coyne, the Catholic Church’s first blogging priest to be elevated to a bishop, was formally installed as Vermont’s new Roman Catholic bishop during a Mass on Thursday attended by nearly 1,000 people including representatives of the diocese’s 73 parishes.

A 70-minute service, including Christmas music and a high-speed 40-minute sermon, left me a bit overwhelmed when I emerged from early worship at First Baptist Church Denton and stepped out onto its well-manicured campus on Malone Street.

A statue of the Savior wearing a crown of thorns looks down upon the draped altar being blessed Sunday morning by Bishop Michael Olson, whose white robes seem otherworldly as he slowly performs the dedication ritual.

LEWISVILLE — “Advent is not Christmas. We want the celebration of the day without the hard work of preparation.” With these words, the Rev. Kathryn Thompson began her first Sunday in Advent message at the Episcopal Church of the Annunciation in Lewisville.

Ricardo Collins asked Eduardo Soriano for a military-style haircut Thursday morning. Soriano made sure not a single hair was out of place by the time Collins left his barber chair, but the crop on Collins’ salt-and-pepper top had a bit of extra style to it, too.